Easing the Toll on Teachers' Checkbooks

Rockville Educator Is Among Beneficiaries of Program to Erase Out-of-Pocket Expenses

All the markers were dry in Theresa Baker's classroom the morning of Oct. 1, and there was no tissue paper for wiping the dry-erase boards. Good thing, then, that a group paraded into her classroom with a large cardboard box filled with school supplies worth $1,000.

Baker, a teacher at Wheaton Woods Elementary School in Rockville, was one of 1,300 educators surprised in their classrooms that day with boxes of supplies, in an event created by OfficeMax and Adopt-a-Classroom.

"One of the kids said, 'This is Christmas for the school,' " Baker said.

The nationwide event, "A Day Made Better," was intended "to erase teacher-funded classrooms," according to the program's Web site.

The sponsors estimate that teachers spend, on average, $1,200 a year of their own money on classroom supplies. That's on top of the supply lists posted by schools and fulfilled by parents, who spend perhaps $30 to $50 at the start of the school year. And that is on top of the books, worksheets, erasers and chalk provided by the school.

The slowing economy has made it harder for school systems to keep classrooms fully equipped, and it has put a pinch on teachers.

The 1,300 schools were identified by Adopt-a-Classroom for financial need, and teachers were nominated by principals.

Others in the region honored last week include Sharon Hammonds-Richardson, a second-grade teacher at Dodge Park Elementary in Landover, and Paul Carpenetti, a fifth-grade teacher at Laurel Woods Elementary in Laurel.

Baker has a classroom but no full-time students. She is a "pullout" teacher, taking children from other classes to dispense extra help. She teaches a Wheaton Woods program called Boost. The goal is to help children who fall just short of passing the Maryland School Assessment, the measure of progress under the federal No Child Left Behind law.

Baker, a former Howard County teacher with 10 years' experience, also teaches children in the basement of the low-income Rock Creek Terrace apartment complex Tuesday nights.

Helping students who are barely shy of passing such tests is a common goal in the nation's public schools. No Child requires schools to attain ever-higher passing rates each year.

Schools commit many resources to students who might pass with a little extra help.